LEVERAGING 3D LAYOUT TO OPTIMIZE

PCB SYSTEM DESIGNS

DANIT ATAR, MENTOR GRAPHICS

W H I T E P A P E R

P C B D E S I G N

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Leveraging 3D Layout to Optimize PCB System Designs

INTRODUCTION
2D design is no longer sufficient for todays complicated PCB layouts. Flex and rigid-flex designs, and an increasing
need for collaboration with MCAD, require advanced 3D layout design capabilities to help fully address todays
challenges. For example, to ensure no physical violations occur when the PCB is placed within the enclosure or
system, especially when designing with flex, the electrical and mechanical design must take component and
mechanical clearances into account. There is no better way to do that than with advanced 3D layout.

By considering mechanical requirements during layout and ensuring efficient communication between the
electrical and mechanical flows, the design is correctly aligned for manufacturing, avoiding last-minute changes
that cost time and money.

With advanced 3D layout, the PCB designer can be more involved and have greater visibility over the mechanical
aspect of the design, allowing him or her to place and route components while adhering to mechanical
requirements. 3D design does not replace communication with MCAD engineers, but it improves and shortens the
design cycle by reducing iterations.

This paper describes six ways to maximize the benefits of 3D technology.

1# USE 3D LAYOUT FOR VIEWING, PLACEMENT, AND MORE

Advanced 3D layout allows immediate identification of critical areas in PCB designs, enabling engineers to resolve
electro-mechanical problems on the fly. Catching problem areas early, during the design phase, eliminates costly,
last-minute changes that otherwise might not be found until the mechanical CAD group finds them in the
completed design or, worse, until manufacturing.

Designers often want to investigate internal layers to identify non-functional padstacks and internal plane layers.
Being able to scale the thickness of the board and provide cuts in the X, Y, and Z directions (Figure 1) will
immediately highlight potential design issues.

Figure 1: Display of the PCB in X, Y, and Z axes.

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Leveraging 3D Layout to Optimize PCB System Designs

3D viewing is more than an interpretation of 2D information; its a true photorealistic view of how the design will
be fabricated, that provides superior visualization of complicated structures. Its extremely helpful to have controls,
including transparency, for board elements such as traces, components, silkscreen, solder mask, and vias. Use the
controls to visually find electro-mechanical conflicts that would be difficult to identify in a 2D view prior to running
design rule checks from manufacturing.

Figure 2: Visualization of traces (top left), silkscreen and solder mask (top right), copper information (bottom left) and internal
layers (bottom right).

With an integrated 3D view of the layout, designers and engineers can immediately validate PCB designs to identify
over- and under-constrained areas in the design, thereby freeing up real estate and reducing potential electrical
issues.

Placement strategies, available in some design tools, can help reduce board real estate and lower the layer count. A
good way to investigate placement strategies is to use 3D placement groups. Such groups allow the quick
identification of the minimum X, Y, and Z real estate required when all components are placed.

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Leveraging 3D Layout to Optimize PCB System Designs

Figure 3: The 3D planning groups in Xpedition are a useful strategy for minimizing PCB real estate.

2# ADD 3D PARTS QUICKLY AND EASILY

3D starter libraries are great but, for 3D design, 3D components are also needed. Although 2D components can be
easily created using wizards, creating 3D components and mechanical parts is a different story. It typically requires a
mechanical engineer to draw the component in a system such as Creo Parametric or SolidWorks and add it to
the parts library. This task requires CAD knowledge and tool licensing that are not always available to individual PCB
designers or small teams.

An easy alternative is to import STEP models from vendors websites. After downloading and importing the STEP
file, the downloaded part in the parts library needs to be mapped to make it available and easily accessible in
future designs.

3# SET 3D CONSTRAINTS AND CLEARANCES

For confidence in designing layouts according to the mechanical requirements, its extremely helpful to set 3D
constraints in layout. To maximize work efficiency, define 3D constraints in the same environment used for the rest
of the design constraints. Constraints can be set to standard objects such as board edge, land patterns, and
mechanical objects. Specific component footprints can also be override.

Based on the defined 3D constraints, online DRC will provide graphical feedback to show any violations of the
constraints during component placement. This, along with a batch DRC of the entire board, helps design with
confidence and ensure design constraints are met at all times.

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Leveraging 3D Layout to Optimize PCB System Designs

Figure 4: Online DRC will provide graphical feedback based on 3D constraints to show any violations of the constraints during
component placement.

4# COMMUNICATE WITH MCAD

Communication and collaboration with MCAD is another area where having 3D layout abilities can make a big
difference. There are two major challenges when collaborating with MCAD: the actual communication format, and
having the PCB adhere to mechanical demands as early as possible to avoid changes in later stages of the design
cycle. A PCB design tool that solves both challenges can make a huge difference in the efficiency of the
communication with MCAD.

Lets focus on the first challenge. Many companies still utilize Intermediate Data Format (IDF) to transfer information
between electrical and mechanical systems. Using a static file transfer of an entire database makes it hard to
identify changes and usually requires more documentation time. Missing, or missed, design information increases
the overall PCB design time.

An integrated ECAD/ MCAD collaboration tool allows both the designer and the MCAD engineer to be fully
synchronized. Issues in communication can be identified easily and effective collaboration on critical design items
across domains ensures the design intent is kept. The end result? Prototype reduction and more robust designs that
get to market faster, and at lower cost.

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Leveraging 3D Layout to Optimize PCB System Designs

Figure 5: Xpedition provides an integrated ECAD/ MCAD collaboration environment that allows the designer and the MCAD
engineer to be fully synchronized.

The availability of integrated 3D viewing and editing during PCB design helps with the second challenge, allowing
designers consider mechanical demands from the start. With these capabilities, the PCB is better prepared and
requires fewer changes when it gets to the mechanical engineer. Communication with the mechanical engineer
will be more effective and take less time.

#5 IMPROVE FLEX DESIGN WITH ADVANCED 3D LAYOUT

Flex design introduces a new set of difficulties for the PCB designer. Designing the stackup is more difficult, routing
can be completely different, and even signal- and power-integrity issues are more challenging. Advanced 3D, and
the ability to measure in 3D where there are bent or folded assemblies, helps see whether a connector on a flex
cable misses its target and, if so, by how much. Knowing this makes it easy to adjust the component placement or
flex cable length.

Being able to export a 3D model of the bent Flex-Rigid assembly is also important, enabling the mechanical design
team to import the PCB and use it in their 3D design environment.

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Leveraging 3D Layout to Optimize PCB System Designs

Figure 6: A 3D photorealistic view of the folded assembly

in Xpedition.

#6 HELP MANUFACTURERS CAPTURE THE DESIGN INTENT WITH 3D PDF

Before sending a finished layout to manufacturing, it can be beneficial to export a 3D PDF report of the design.
Most tools have an option to export STEP as well but not everyone can open STEP files, so PDF is more
approachable.

The 3D PDF report can be useful for reporting and documentation purposes but its primary purpose is to help
manufacturers better understand the design intent and, in so doing, to properly manufacture the PCB. Many PCB
designers testify that manufacturers have difficulty understanding what the PCB is supposed to look like based on
a 2D report. Sharing 3D representations allows others to visualize the design and detect potential problems earlier.

Figure 7: Use 3D PDF reports to help manufacturers better understand the design intent and properly manufacture the PCB.

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Leveraging 3D Layout to Optimize PCB System Designs

CONCLUSION:
Having advanced 3D layout capabilities can be highly beneficial when they are well integrated in the PCB design
tool. Being able to view and understand information from the third dimension helps design better layouts from the
start, both electronically and mechanically. With 3D design, the designer has more control over design intent,
better communication with mechanical engineers and, ultimately, higher-quality PCB designs.

Advanced 3D layout in Xpedition provides the capability to visualize and validate PCB designs as if it were already
manufactured. With Xpedition designers and engineers can easily understand the physical product, allowing
identification of electro-mechanical problems early in the design cycle and avoid costly re-designs. A complete
photorealistic view of all board elements also helps with flex design challenges.

Xpedition also includes a 3D library of 4.8 million parts, allowing the validation of complex PCB designs with rigid
mechanical constraints. The 3D layout environment supports real-time collaboration within the MCAD system,
allowing ECAD/MCAD users to negotiate changes within the electrical and mechanical domains.

For more information about the advanced 3D layout capabilities in Xpedition, go to mentor.com/pcb.

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